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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27950303">Ten out of Ten</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkChocolateLord/pseuds/TheDarkChocolateLord'>TheDarkChocolateLord</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Drabble, Fluff, Gen, Humor, the Neverseen members are all chaotic evil with an emphasis on the chaotic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:48:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>650</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27950303</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkChocolateLord/pseuds/TheDarkChocolateLord</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Agenda for tonight's Neverseen meeting:<br/>1) Progress reports and star stickers<br/>2) Updates on lessons on dramatics and projection<br/>3) Poster honoring Brant's loss<br/>4) Short but inspiring speech from our newest member</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Ten out of Ten</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"I think we've had a pretty successful quarter!" Fintan declared at the dinner table that night in the Neverseen hideout. "We teamed up with the ogres for the gnomish plague, we collapsed Lumenaria and broke Vespera out of prison, and while Keefe </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>abandon us, the fake caches did their job."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a perfunctory round of applause.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And now for your progress reports." Fintan circled the table, passing each Neverseen member a stack of papers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gethen smiled as he examined his report—yes, there was a review for Lumenaria.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Neverseen Member Name: Gethen Inar Ondisnn</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Action: Collapsing Lumenaria</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Omniscient Hints/Irony/Dramatics: 8/10</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Death Threats: 10/10</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fulfillment of Promised Action: 9/10</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Violence: 7/10</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gethen looked up from the paper. "A </span>
  <em>
    <span>seven</span>
  </em>
  <span> in violence? Are you kidding me, Fintan? I collapsed the entire castle and killed like twenty goblins, not to mention Mr. Forkle!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes, but you let Oralie get away—that also docked two points off of your irony as you didn't manage to kill her. Plus, didn't she give you that black eye?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gethen glared at Fintan—well, glared as much as he could given his eye injury. "Hey, heels are dangerous." He was fully aware of how stupid that sentence sounded—and he was going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill </span>
  </em>
  <span>Umber for letting it slip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She did it with her heels? I thought it was a rock or something….yeah, that takes you down to a six." Fintan yanked the paper out of Gethen's hands and adjusted the score.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The table burst out laughing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gethen groaned. He was going to have his hands full keeping his reputation intact in the coming weeks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Moving on," Fintan continued, "Ruy, I'm giving you a gold star for your work with the force fields. Excellent work."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruy beamed and carefully stuck the coveted sticker on the front of his cloak. Beside him, Umber looked on in envy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Our next lesson on dramatics and threats is tomorrow at nine in the morning. I expect everyone here to attend. Some of you did very well during the Lumenaria collapse—" he winked at Gethen, who smiled; maybe he hadn't failed that badly after all— "but there is always room for improvement. Tip of the day, projecting your voice is </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span>—though an especially brutal threat in an especially soft tone can be quite effective as well. Trix, can you give us an example?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tell me where the moonlark is hiding or I'll kill you." He added a devious smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Good job with your tone, but project a little more. Remember, you're a Neverseen member, not a five-year-old at Claws, Horns, Wings, and Things who really wants a murcat."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trix nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Due to Brant's loss, our usual Wall of Fame poster will be replaced by a poster honoring him. If I could get some volunteers—Alvar? Ruy? Very well, then. Can it be up by Sunday?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two elves nodded, then high-fived.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do you want a portrait, or just a list of Brant's greatest acts?" Alvar checked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Can you do both?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Of course," Ruy grinned. "I'll do the portrait. Alvar's terrible at art."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I am not!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"One time you drew a dog and I thought it was a deformed baby chick."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"They're both fluffy, does it really matter?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gethen nearly snorted fizzleberry wine out of his nose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fintan rolled his eyes. "I'll let you two continue with your flirting later."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We're not flirting," Ruy and Alvar said in unison.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Uh-huh. Last but not least, let's have a few inspiring words from our newest guest, Vespera."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The frail elf stood and smoothed her deep burgundy gown. "Ruthlessness is the only path to victory. Remorse and sorrow are for the weak. It is through determination, cunning, bravery, and ambition that we find the way to true light."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Very well said," Fintan nodded. He raised his goblet. "To ruthlessness!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"To ruthlessness," the rest of the table echoed. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
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